Where a commercial property is sold by a receiver or insolvency practitioner (IP), VAT must be charged on the sale if the owner had exercised and properly notified an option to tax (OTT) in respect of the property. The IP acting on behalf of the seller needs to establish whether an OTT has been made … Continue Reading
Following the sanctioning of the Good Box restructuring plan (RP) it seems the answer is yes. This might sound surprising to those familiar with schemes of arrangement, because that outcome is at odds with the long-standing decision in Re Savoy Hotels. For those less familiar with schemes and scheme case law, the court declined to … Continue Reading
It is difficult to predict what 2023 might hold for businesses in the UK. Given the difficult economic environment, many will already be facing a challenging start to the year. Although the challenges of the pandemic (such as lock downs) have gone, others have materialised. Energy price hikes and inflation rises continue to make trading conditions tough. At some point in 2023 affected businesses may have to restructure, and others may need to enter a formal process. … Continue Reading
The requirement for overseas entities to register or be registered on the UK Register of Overseas Entities (ROE) at Companies House could impact certain transactions that insolvency practitioners (IPs) and lenders are involved with. Our latest quick guide highlights some of those areas and flags points for IPs and lenders to consider when dealing with … Continue Reading
Can a Company Voluntary Arrangement (“CVA”) complete, but still remain in place and bind creditors? The simple answer is yes; but it does require (a) the terms of the CVA to be carefully drafted to allow notice of completion to be filed before the end of the CVA term; (b) compliance with the terms of … Continue Reading
Supply chain disruption was exacerbated by the pandemic, and due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine problems continue to impact UK businesses. Unfortunately there is no sign of disruptions abating in the short term. In a recent webinar Sarah Rathke explored the question: “Why is Everything Broken? Understanding Pandemic Supply Chains” which is available to view … Continue Reading
Following a long wait of 18 months, the Supreme Court has today confirmed that the appeal of the decision in BTI –v- Sequana is unanimously dismissed. The key question that many of us have been waiting for the answer to is: Does the creditor duty set out in s172(3) of the Companies Act 2006 exist … Continue Reading
Following the UK government announcing that UK businesses will benefit from a reduction in energy costs to help combat rising energy costs, details of the proposed scheme have now been released. Under the scheme, a discount will be automatically applied to the bills of those businesses that are eligible to receive it, namely businesses that … Continue Reading
Last week, the new Prime Minster announced a 6 month scheme to help businesses with rising energy costs. Although further details are awaited, the scheme is likely to reflect the support being provided to consumers, by offering a guarantee that discounts the unit costs for gas and electricity. Recognising that businesses have not benefitted from … Continue Reading
HMRC as the UK tax authority is often the largest creditor in any insolvency, but has not always been willing to engage in the process. This has caused viable restructuring proposals to fail for lack of support and this sometimes results in HMRC not achieving the best return. HMRC recognise that this stance has frustrated … Continue Reading
There has been very little to indicate how HM Revenue and Customs (“HMRC”) might approach a restructuring plan (RP), following HMRC’s preferential status being restored in 2020. The reinstatement of HMRC as a preferential creditor potentially makes company voluntary arrangements non-viable if HMRC do not support, but what about RPs? RPs introduced for the first … Continue Reading
In PGD (in liquidation) Manolete Partners plc v Hope Mr Justice Zacaroli considered whether it was possible and/or appropriate to limit the quantum of relief granted in insolvency litigation to the amount required to pay the liquidation debts, costs and expenses where the claim had been assigned to a third-party litigation funder. Zacaroli J held … Continue Reading
Although there have not been many moratoriums since they were introduced, there have been a few, and according to data collected for this recent interim report, the costs of appointing a monitor and entering into a moratorium appear to be fairly reasonable. This will provide comfort to both corporates and practitioners who (understandably) might be … Continue Reading
The perceived costs of proposing a restructuring plan are seen to be the biggest inhibitors to using the process for SMEs. It is still a relatively new tool and insolvency practitioners, lawyers and the courts are still grappling with it, but as we have seen recently in Amigo Loans it can provide creative and innovative … Continue Reading
It is often the case, that insolvency claims are pursued against former directors of the insolvent company or persons connected to them. It is also often the case, that such claims are assigned to a litigation funding company given lack of funds in the insolvent estate to pursue them. This is what happened in Lock … Continue Reading
The impact of Russia Sanctions has, as we have seen in the US with the first Chapter 11 filing (see our previous blog) started to have an adverse impact on businesses that have connections with Russia. The impact on supply chains, and the consequences for business remain at the forefront of discussions and in our … Continue Reading
In the final video, as part of our business recovery and resilience series, Aysha Fernandes (Commercial Finance Director at UK Finance), gives us some insight into what UK Finance expect to see during 2022 in terms of business recovery and lender support. To listen to Aysha’s answer click here. All other videos in this series … Continue Reading
As part of our business recovery and resilience series, our fourth video from Aysha Fernandes (Commercial Finance Director at UK Finance), answers this question as well as commenting on what trends UK Finance have been seeing as we start to come through the pandemic. To listen to Aysha’s answer click here. Our previous video answering … Continue Reading
As part of our business recovery and resilience series, our third video from Rob O’Hare (PSL in our Tax team), responds to the question: How should companies approach HMRC for support and what support might they expect? To listen to Rob’s answer click here. We will also shortly be releasing an alert explaining the situations … Continue Reading
In the second of our short videos in relation to business recovery and resilience, John Alderton (Partner in our Restructuring & Insolvency team), responds to the question: As we are coming out of the COVID crisis, what should directors be thinking about? Please click here to listen to John’s answer. This series of videos are … Continue Reading
Identifying distress in your own business or those that you do business with is vital to ensuring its financial health. Some distress indicators are due to external circumstances beyond the control of the directors, but nevertheless can pose a threat to the ongoing success of the business, others are internal, indicating that the directors may … Continue Reading
Last year we saw two pivotal judgments handed down, Regis and New Look. These both concerned challenges brought by landlords, as to the manner in which landlord claims were treated in Regis’ and New Looks’, company voluntary arrangements (CVA). In the New Look case, landlords sought to attack the company’s CVA from all angles, with … Continue Reading
The huge and devastating impact of COVID-19 on people, economies and business was unforeseen, and although (in the UK, at least, with all restrictions now lifted) the pressures created by COVID-19 are hopefully a thing of the past, businesses are seeing new challenges impacting recovery, trade and growth. It is saddening to watch the developments … Continue Reading
